I started posting, then discovered when doing a search that y'all had a spot to say "Hi".

I've been doing woodworking for a long time, and I've been playing guitar almost as long. My first electric was a Telecaster that I lost in a burglary, and while I love my MIM Strat, I've always wanted another Tele. I started a Telecaster copy a few years ago. I got as far as shaping and routing the body (alder), cutting the outline of the (maple) neck, laminating and radiusing the (rosewood) fingerboard, and cutting the fret slots. That project had to go on the shelf as I've been completely remodeling my workshop in preparation for my retirement at the end of this year, and I'm looking forward to getting the shop back into operation this fall and getting back to work on this project.

I've already started collecting materials and parts for my NEXT guitar, so the intent is to keep building guitars as long as I can afford to do it. I'm hoping that at some point I can start selling some of these guitars for enough money to keep me in materials, parts, and supplies, but we'll see... The LOML bought me a short-scale bass (actually a Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI) for Christmas last year, and I've been having a blast with it. One of the things I'd like to do down the road is to build a short-scale 4-string bass (I have little hands and a 34" scale length is a bit awkward for me). I bought some cheap "OEM" Tele pickups that were on clearance from GFS so I'd have something to put in this axe when it's done, but I also bought some bobbins and wire and have plans to build a winder so I can wind my own pickups. I built my own bike a few years ago, and figured that I shouldn't build a bike and buy wheels, so I learned how to build wheels. I figure if I'm going to build a guitar, I might as well learn to build the pickups too!!

Anyway, this forum looks like a nice, friendly place to hang out, with plenty of folks to learn from, and with opportunities to return the favor by passing along what I learn.

Thanks, Mark - feels like home already. Maybe our paths will cross in the real world since we're both Michiganders. One of these days I have to make the obligatory pilgrimage up to Lansing to visit Elderly Instruments!

Welcome to the forum Steve!I'm almost in the same boat as you. I've been a hobby woodworker most of my life, as well as playing guitar for most of my life. I finished renovating my shop a couple of years ago, so that I could hopefully roll into retirement already set up.Retirement is about 5 years away, but those years will fly by if the last 5 are any indicator. The whole world is represented here. I'm from Canada. There are a number of us here, as well as Britons, Aussies, Germans, and others too!Have fun, and hopefully you will sell your guitars. That's the toughest part of it for me.

Thanks, Gordon. I have a little Python script on my desktop here at work that is counting down the days & weeks until I can finally pull the plug. I don't have time for this work crap!!

Just 23 weeks to go...

For a while I was thinking of moving when I retired. I was looking for a house with more garden (for the LOML) more shop (for me) and less house. However we've put so much work and $$ into the house we have now, the thought of starting all over was not attractive, so I've been spending the better part of the last year gutting and re-doing the entire basement, and with Marcy's arthritis she thinks that the garden she has to work now is plenty (we live on a corner lot, so we have much more property than most in our neighborhood).

The shop is getting close. Still putting down some flooring, some more electrical to do and the Oneida dust collector is still piled in the rec room in the original boxes. If I have everything done by the end of September, I'll be pretty happy...

Steve Sawyer wrote:Thanks, Gordon. I have a little Python script on my desktop here at work that is counting down the days & weeks until I can finally pull the plug. I don't have time for this work crap!!

Hello and welcome. I'm another newbie here who's looking towards retirement in a few years. I have maybe 5 years to go, though. If you have Python running you might be a fellow computer guy. I'm faculty at a college where I teach computer programming. I have more time in summers so I'm trying to ramp up early. Sounds like you are getting your shop going nicely. Very cool.

Eric Knapp wrote:If you have Python running you might be a fellow computer guy.

A recovering programmer.

Despite an education in marketing, I got sucked into the technology end of things for about ten years, then together with two partners, I ran a small development shop back in the early aughts. I discovered I had zero patience supervising programmers that didn't share my passion and then realized that the business problem is usually much more interesting (and challenging) than the technical problem. Made a transition through running a technology startup, then as a data analyst in the ad industry for many years (where I learned and taught my team to build applications in Python), and am currently working in the same industry but as a business analyst. Started playing with Arduinos a few months back, hoping to build a pickup winder with stepper motors.

I'm a tool freak, and computers are just highly flexible and adaptable tools...